{"id":397924,"date":"2026-01-07T17:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/397924\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T17:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:09:22","slug":"dolphins-forward-outlines-injury-return-timeline-after-acl-setback-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/397924\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolphins forward outlines injury return timeline after ACL setback &#8211; NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/nrl\/teams\/dolphins\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Dolphins<\/a> have received a measured but positive update on the recovery of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/players\/max-plath\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Max Plath<\/a>, with the versatile forward eyeing a return early in the 2026 season following ACL surgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Plath was one of the Dolphins&#8217; standout performers in 2024 but managed just eight <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> appearances in 2025 after suffering a season-ending knee injury.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Speaking to the media during the club&#8217;s pre-season, the 24-year-old said his rehab was progressing strongly, drawing confidence from having navigated a similar recovery earlier in his career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI&#8217;ve done it before, I know what it&#8217;s like and I know it&#8217;s going to be fine,\u201d Plath said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt&#8217;s been a long six months, but it&#8217;s coming along really strong now, it&#8217;s at the point where they&#8217;re actually holding me back a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-205439\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"NRL Rd 27 - Dolphins v Warriors\" width=\"1024\" height=\"685\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1654220554.jpg.webp.webp\"\/>BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA &#8211; SEPTEMBER 02: Max Plath of the Dolphins celebrates with team mate Sean O&#8217;Sullivan after scoring a try during the round 27 NRL match between the Dolphins and New Zealand Warriors at Suncorp Stadium on September 02, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">While a Round 1 return has been ruled out, Plath remains optimistic about featuring early in the campaign, with Round 3 or 4 emerging as a more realistic target once the nine-month recovery mark is reached.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Whenever he is cleared to return, Plath is expected to regain match fitness through the Dolphins&#8217; Queensland Cup affiliate Redcliffe, where he will look to force his way back into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Competition for spots looms large for the utility forward, with the emergence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/players\/kurt-donoghoe\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kurt Donoghoe<\/a> during Plath&#8217;s absence creating selection headaches for coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/coaches\/kristian-woolf\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kristian Woolf<\/a>. However, Plath made it clear he is unfazed by the challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cKurt is a sensational player,\u201d Plath said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI&#8217;ve always said I&#8217;d rather be the worst player in a winning team than the best player in a losing team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWinning is everything for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dolphins have received a measured but positive update on the recovery of Max Plath, with the versatile&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-397924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}